Animal Acoustics
Our mission is to use and develop new technologies to gain knowledge and understanding in behavioural ecology- topics including evolution, animal behaviour and communication. I thoroughly believe that seeking new knowledge in these topics will aid conservation efforts throughout the global community, and that this knowledge should be shared with the general public in a way that demonstrates the value of our beautiful animals and ecosystems.
Who we are:
Miyako Warrington, M.S.
Miya Warrington's research interests include animal behaviour and evolution of novel traits. In particular, she is interested in animal communication and social networks. She received her B.Sc. in Biology specializing in Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She received her M.S. in Tropical Conservation Biology and Enivormental Science from the University of Hawaii at Hilo in May 2008. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Macquarie University.
Miya's interest in animal behaviour started at a young age when she was living in rural Canada where she was able to observe waterfowl, herons, eagles and other beautiful wetland bird on a regular basis. Volunteering at the Vancouver Aquarium allowed her to get her first peek into how science was done, and she quickly got involved with vegetation and bird surveys, among various other projects. Her first research project focused on looking at recognition characteristics of the feebee calls in Black-capped chickadees. Miya then proceeded into venturing into a wide array of biology fields included palaentology, toxicology, fisheries and wildlife, but always coming back to the birds. Miya's intrigue for physics led her to consideration of combining the ideas and technologies with biology research. Her first published research using this approach was on flight energetic of the Marbled Murrelet, which included examining flight models. Coqui frog papers are forthcoming. Life's adventures led Miya and her husband, Ben, to Hawaii and then to Australia, where she is now part of the Avian Behavioural Ecology Group at Macquarie University as well as the Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre at the University of New England.
Current Projects:
Why study communication?
Animal communication is a rapidly growing field that continues to dominate the programs of international conferences and the pages of high-impact journals. This research speciality is a particular strength of the Department of Brain, Behaviour, and Evolution at Macquarie University. New findings are questioning long-held assumptions in a host of related fields including animal culture, learning, sexual selection, and signal meaning; a new synthesis is being forged that links the study of cognition, traditionally the province of experimental psychology, with function and evolution, topics that have long been central in biological science.
As in many other scientific disciplines, the study of animal behaviour has been limited by technology. For example, the availability of sound spectrograms and portable recorders in the 20th century allowed for documentation of songs and analysis of song structure that was previously unsuccessfully attempted by musical transcription (Thorpe 1954). Signaling movements, like those used in territorial or mating displays, have historically been particularly difficult to describe. Even though they are functionally important in a wide range of contexts such as such as mate choice (Rosenthal, Evans & Miller 1996) and opponent assessment (Ord, Blumstein & Evans 2001), they have been the most neglected class of animal signals. Impediments to studying movements have recently been removed by technological advances such as improved image resolution (Ophir & Galef 2003, Smith & Evans 2008), highly realistic computer-generated animations (Wantanabe & Troje 2006, Woo & Rieucau 2008), and new approaches for structural analysis (Peters & Evans 2003).
The study of acoustic signals has also undergone considerable development partially owing to the development of software packages such as Cornell University's Raven Interactive Sound Analysis software, XBAT and Avisoft SAS Lab. Paired with statistical software such as JMP, SPSS and R, defining and describing songs and calls has become even more objective and specific allowing for scientists to ask many questions such as, how songs vary with time, age, sex of caller, and if calls have individual or group signatures.
Thesis: The Effect of Genetic Structure and Social Networking on the Acoustic Communication of Co-operative breeding Apostlebirds, Struthidea cinerea
My current study system, Apostlebirds (Struthidae cinerea), at UNSW Arid Zone Research Station at Fowlers Gap, is an ideal system for studying the interaction of acoustic communication with genetic and social networks. Apostlebirds are sexually monomorphic ground foraging passerine birds that live in sedentary groups averaging 3-20 members (Woxvold 2004). They are highly social, and no group has been found to successfully fledge offspring without the aid of helpers (Woxwold & Magrath 2005).
Supervisors:
Dr. Simon Griffith
http://www.bio.mq.edu.au/avianbehaviouralecology/
Dr. Paul McDonald
http://www.une.edu.au/staff/pmcdon21.php
Prof. Jonathan Wright
http://www.ntnu.edu/employees/jonathan.wright
Cataloguing the Vocalizations of the `Alala
Miya is currently working on digitizing and analyzing vocalizations of the Hawaiian Crow, Corvus hawaiiensis. (more . . .)
Advisor:
Patrick J. Hart
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~pjhart/
Collaborators:
Paul C. Banko
Donna Ball
Past Projects:
Master's Thesis: Monitoring coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) populations using sound pressure levels
Miya's thesis focused on developing a new method for monitoring invasive coqui frogs, Eleutherodactylus coqui, on the Big Island, Hawai'i, using sound pressure levels. (more . . .)
Advisor:
William J. Mautz
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~mautz/
Committee:
Patrick J. Hart
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~pjhart/
Cedric C. Muir
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~cmuir/
Selected Publications:
Francis L. Benevides Jr., William J. Mautz,, and Miyako Warrington. 2009. A piece-wise linear model of sound pressure level of male Eleutherodactylus coqui overnight chorus. Herpetological Review 40 (2): 162-165.
Elliott, Kyle; Hewett, Miyako; Kaiser, Gary; and Blake, Robert W. 2004. Flight energetics of the Marbled Murrelet, Brachyramphus marmoratus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82: 644-652
Hewett, Miyako and Darryl T. McLeod. 2001. Status of the White Pelican on Rainy Lake, Ontario, 2001. Fort Frances District Report Series No. 50. Entered Sep 04 2001. Ontario, Canada.
Contact and More Information
email: miya .at. animal-acoustics .dot. com
Links
Avian Behavioural Ecology Group at Macquarie University
Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre at the University of New England
University of Hawai'i at Hilo TCBES program